Jockey Club Raids Premier League Clubs
Jockey Club Racecourses has announced two senior hires from Premier League football clubs, with Everton’s Phil Hardman and Manchester United’s Claire Fitzsimmons joining the racecourse group.
Starting from 6th October, Hardman has been appointed to a new role of Regional Head of Partnerships for the North West from Everton FC, where he was Head of Partnerships.
Fitzsimmons joins as Regional Head of Sales for the North West later in October from Manchester United FC, where she is Sales Manager for Matchday and Non-Matchday Hospitality.
Both will be based out of Aintree Racecourse, reporting to John Baker, North West Regional Director for Jockey Club Racecourses and join the regional senior management team.
Phil Hardman has been based at Goodison Park for more than four years where he is responsible currently for the club’s Partnerships department with a specific focus on generating revenues and meeting the needs of commercial partners, including Chang, UMBRO, Crabbie’s, Kitbag, POWER8, StubHub, BT, Sky Sports, Thomas Cook Sport, EA Sports, Paddy Power and Dafabet.
As Regional Head of Partnerships for Jockey Club Racecourses in the North West, he will be responsible for developing and securing new commercial partnerships for Aintree, Carlisle and Haydock Park racecourses, while managing existing relationships, including for the Crabbie’s Grand National Festival. He will also work closely with The Jockey Club’s Group Sales & Marketing Director, Tom Manners, on group partnership opportunities.
Claire Fitzsimmons has spent more than four years at Old Trafford where she has been successfully managing and developing the Matchday and Non-Matchday Hospitality Sales teams to consistently exceed sales revenue targets. As Regional Head of Sales for Jockey Club Racecourses in the North West, she will be responsible for driving admissions and hospitality sales at Aintree, Carlisle and Haydock Park for more than 60 racing fixtures a year and generating conference and events business across the regional venue portfolio.
With more than 22 years of consumer and business sales experience, Claire Fitzsimmons was previously Director of Sales, Matchday and Non-Matchday, at Murrayfield Stadium (for the Scottish Rugby Union and Sodexo); a National Account Manager for Marriott Hotels; and Regional Sales, Scotland, for Forte Hotels.
